2024-2025 Undergraduate Academic Catalog

Certificate in Child Homelessness Studies

Certificate in Child Homelessness Studies  

Many children who have experienced homelessness have experienced trauma, developmental disruption and extreme family stressors. Traumatic experiences take many forms: . Witnessing or enduring acts of violence, living through multiple transitions in terms of residence or caregivers, and issues related to poverty and stress.  These create conditions that require specific skill sets for professionals who work with children. The certificate curriculum addresses the structural origins of homelessness, the critical issues that support and sustain parental resiliency, , the vital role of relationships in human development, and the neuroscience that underlies child development.  

The certificate is a 15 credit program designed to provide students with a multi-disciplinary understanding of the origins and nature of child homelessness.  It is helps to prepare undergraduate students for future employment in settings that specifically address child homelessness, as well as work with children across settings, where homelessness may otherwise go unrecognized. The certificate also prepares students for graduate study in fields that are germane to the epidemic of child homelessness. 

Learning Goals:

  • Students develop a multi-disciplinary understanding of the origins and nature of child homelessness. 
  • Students will also become knowledgeable regarding common intervention strategies for children and families in transition, from trauma-focused psychological approaches and case management, to housing and shelter initiatives, as well as policy-level advocacy.   

Certificate Courses

Take these courses below.  Suggest taking CPSYC 2402 and CPSYC 2421 first as foundational courses in this area.

CPSYC 2402Child Homelessness

3

CPSYC 2421Introduction to Counseling

3

CSOCS 3050Parenting Resilience

3

Developmental Courses

Choose One

CPSYC 2401Child Psychology

3

CPSYC 3407Critical Issues in Infancy

3

CPSYC 3409Psychology of Preadolescence and Adolescence

3

Advanced Counseling Courses

Choose one

CPSYC 3422Trauma and Crisis

3

CPSYC 3424Counseling Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

3

CPSYC 3426Multicultural Counseling

3

CPSYC 3427Family Interventions

3